Vending-machine.



L. A. VANDIVER. VENDING MACHINE. APPLlcATIoN FILED ocr. I1. 1913.v

Patented July 13. 1915.

Ilm

Witnesses Attorneys.,

Wlllllm WFA@ FATF T tlFFlhl.,

LESLIE A.. VANDIVER, OFGCHICAGO, ILLINOIS, `11SSIGLNR T0 STAR NOVELTY MANU- FACTURING COL, 0F SI-IELBINA, MISSOURI.

VENDING-MACHINE.

Specitcation of Letters Patent.

Patenten .rely 1a, 1a15.

Application filed October 17, 1913. Serial No. 795,776.

To all whom 'it may concern.'

Be it lrnown that l, LESLIE A. VANDIVER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of lllinois, have invented a new and useful Vending-Machine, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to vending machines of that type disclosed more particularly in Patent No. 1,012,940, issued to me on Fecernber Q6, 1911.

ln machines of this type article engaging needles are used but it has been found that, when these needles are swung laterally within the casing of the machine they are likely to strike against unyielding objects and thus bend or become distorted.

@ne of the objects of the present invention is to provide a needle'of novel forni which will yield laterallv when brought into contact with an unyielding obstruction, so as thus to be left uninjured.

A further object is to provide `an article engaging needle capable of yielding longitudinally when brought into contact with an article so that, when subjected toy excessive resistance by the article or by an object under the article, thereis no danger of thev needle bowing to such an extent as to break or become permanently distorted.

A further object is to provide an article engaging needle withy a stripping thimble so constructed as` to flex laterally should the.

same come into contact with an unyielding obstruction.

With the foregoing and other objects in:

view which will rappear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention. f y

ln the accompanying drawings the preferred forms of the invention have been shown. v l y ln said, drawingsz--Figure 1 is an elevation of a portion of a vending machine having the present improvements combined therewith, the stripping thimble being extended beyond the point of the needle. Fig. I

2 is a central vertical section through the needle carrying structure and the thimble. Fig.` 3 is a detail view of the needle. Fig. 4f is a section through a portion of the structure and showing the action thereof when brought laterally against an unyielding obstruction. Fig. 5 is a section showing a modified form of needle. Fig. 6 is a view showing a slight modihcation of the strucn ture illustrated in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a detail view of another modified form of needle.

Referring to the igures by characters of reference l designates an arm mounted to be adjusted angularly about the axis of a stem 2, this stem being slidable within a tubular standard 3 and whichhas a slot 4 therein for the reception of the arm 1. This arm 1 thus has up and down movement relative to the standard 3. Another arm 5 is arrangedabove the arm 1 and does not have up and down movement although it is adapted to be adjusted angularly with the arm 1. Arm 5 has a guide rod 6 extending downwardly therefrom and arm 1 has a tubular spindle 7 secured to its outer end and slidable on the rod 6. A sleeve 8 is slidable on spindle 7 and has a coiled spring 9 housed therein, this spring bearing upwardly against an enlargement 10 of the spindle 7 and bearing downwardly upon a flange l1 in the sleeve 8. Thus when the sleeve is moved upwardly relative to the spindle the spring 9 is placed under compression. This'sleeve vcan be held in raised position by a lip 12 extending from a lool@ ing lever 13 which is pivoted on arm 1, said lip engaging an annular shoulder 141A formed upon the upper portion lof sleeve 8. These parts d o not constitute any part of l,the present invention and have already been described in detail in a copending application of even date herewith.

, The lower end of the spindle 7 is exte- `riorly screw threaded, as shown at 15 and is adapted to be engaged by a screw cap 16, the free end of which is frusto-conical and provided with a central orifice 17. Cap 16 is engaged by a radially extending finger 18 formed at one end of a coiled spring 19, this coiled spring extending upwardly into the spindle 7 and merging, at its upper or inner end into a needle Q0 which extends longitudinally through the spring 19 and through opening 17.

The lower end of sleeve 8 is exteriorly screw threaded and is engaged by a collar in rig. 4..

.unyielding object, it iscapable of pushing upwardly longitudinally into the spindle 7, spring 19 becoming elongated during this action. Thus-the needle can be made very delicate so that it will not injure the lightest articles such, for example, as cigars, cigarettes, etc. Furthermore should the needle be struck a lateral blow against an unyielding obstruction it will be free to flex laterally by reason of the actthat the thimble constituting the stripper is likewise flexible and is capable of bending laterally as shown It isto be understood that instead of making the needle as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, wherein said needle extends through the coil'whlch is an integral part thereof, the

needle canl be located entirely beyond one end of the coil. as shown in Fig. 7 wherein the needle'has been illustrated at 25 and the coil at 26. Where this type of needle is used, it is necessary to provide some form of abutment within the spindle 7 against which the inner or upper end of the spring 26 can contact. This form of spring is as capable of lateral flexing as is the needle disclosed in Y Figs. 2 and 3 and is also equally capable of shifting longitudinally, such longitudinal movement lof the needle placing spring 26 under'compression whereas, in the form shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the spring'V is stretched under similar conditions.

In Fig. 5 another modified form has been illustrated. In this figure a spindle has been indicated at 27 'and has its lower threaded end engaged by a cap 28 provided with an aperture 29 such as hereinbefore described. In the lower end of this spindle a hollowblock 30 is mounted to slide, this block being interiorly screw threaded so as to be engaged by the threaded end of the stem 31, this stem being slidable in a stop 32 located in the spindle 27. A spring 33 is mounted on the stem and bears against stop 32 and also against block 30 so as lto hold the block normally pressed toward the cap 28.v A needle 34 is arranged in an opening 35 formed in one end of the block 30 and the head of this needle is adapted to be clamped by one end of the stem 31 so that the needle is thus held iixedly connected to the block 30. By unscrewing stem 31 `from the block, the needle can be removed and another one substituted therefor. Obviously,

if preferred, the needle can be soldered or otherwise connected to the block 30. In this form of device the needle is held normally projected by @spring 33, but, should the needle come into Contact with an unyielding surface, during the downward movement of the needle, said needle will be free to shift upwardly in the direction of its length, thereby placing spring 33 under compression.

Instead of arranging the needle as shown in Fig. 5, the said needle can be mounted to swing in any direction so as thus to enable it to be used in connection with a liexible thimble or stripper such as shown in Figs. 2 and l. This modified structure has been shown in Fig. 6 wherein, instead of mounting the needle in a block 30, the head of the needle can be mounted to rest loosely upon the apertured cap 3G corresponding with the cap 2S, the head 37 of the needle being yieldingly engaged by a block 38 engaged by one end of a spring 39. Thus while the needle is held normally projected straight through the flexible thimble 24k. it is capable of pressing inwardly against the block 38 and also ot swinging laterally in any direction when the thimble llexes.

It will be apparent that with all forms oi needles herein described, when the mechanism is lowered so as to stab an article with the needle, said needle will be free to yield upwardly should it come against an unyielding obstruction. In certain of the structures the needles are likewise capable of flexing laterally so that they will not become distorted orbroken should they move laterally against an unvielding obstruction. This construction has been found to be of considerable advantage when used in connection with vending machines of the type hereinbefore referred to.

What is claimed is 1. In a vending machine, article engaging means including a tubular spindle, a cap thereon, a needle mounted to move longitudinally within the spindle and guided by the cap, a spring housed within the spindle for holding the needle normally projected, and a thimble slidably mounted on the needle and constituting stripping means.

2. In a vending machine. an article engaging device including a tubular spindle, a needle slidablv mounted therein, yielding means for holding the needle normally projected beyond the end of the spindle, a sleeve slidable on the spindle, and a thimble carried by the sleeve and slidable on the needle, said thimble constituting stripping means.

3. In a vending machine, a spindle, a spring housed therein, a needle integral with the spring and held thereby normally projected beyond the spindle, and a llexible stripping element surrounding the needle.

4:. In a vending machine, a spindle, a spring housed therein, a needle held yieldingly projected from the spindle by the spring, and a flexible stripping element slidable relative to the needle.

5. In a vending machine, a spindle, a

spring housed therein, a needle held yieldingly projected from the spindle by the spring, and a flexible thimble extending around the needle and shiftable longitudinally relative thereto.

6. In a vending machine, a spindle, a spring housed therein, a needle held yieldingly projected from the spindle by the spring, a cap constituting a guide for the needle and secured to the spindle, and a flexible stripping element extending around the needle and shiftable longitudinally relative thereto.

7. In a vending machine, a spindle, a spring therein, a cap for retaining the spring, a needle guided by the cap and held yieldingly projected by the spring, and a flexible thimble extending around and slidable upon the needle.

8. In a vending machine, a spindle, a coiled spring seated therein, and a needle integral with one end of the spring and extending longitudinally through the spring and beyond the spindle.

9. In a vending machine, a spindle, a cap removably mounted thereon, a coiled spring having one end secured to the cap, the

other end of the spring being extended into the spindle, a needle integral with said last named end of the spring and extending longitudinally through the spring and cap and beyond the spindle.

l0. In a vending machine, a spindle, a cap removably mounted thereon, a coiled spring having one end secured to the cap, the other end of the spring being extended into the spindle, a needle integral With said last named end of the spring and extending longitudinally through the spring and cap and beyond the spindle, and a flexible stripping element movable relative to the needle.

11. In a vending machine, a spindle, a cap removably mounted thereon, a coiled spring having one end secured to the cap, the other end of the spring being extended into the spindle, a needle integral with said last named end of the spring and extending longitudinally through the spring and cap and beyond the spindle, and a flexible thimble slidable upon the needle.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto allixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

LESLIE A. VANDIVER.

Witnesses:

N. P. BIsHoFF, ROBERT CoWLEs.

Copies of this patent may he obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

